More than three-quarters of young Dublin adults and families want to move house in the foreseeable future – with a back garden the most sought-after feature, a new survey reveals.

An online survey by the new Irish property search website PerfectProperty.ie found that 78pc of Dubliners aged between 25 and 45 are looking to move within the next two years – if they could find somewhere suitable to live.

Among them, almost a quarter of respondents hope to move within three to 12 months while four percent of respondents are desperate to move within the next one to three months.

Less than a quarter of respondents or 21pc said they are happy to stay put.

The would-be home-hunters are almost evenly split between homeowners with a mortgage (42pc) and renters (41pc) with 14pc of respondents owning their current homes outright.

Not surprisingly, price was the main consideration cited by 90pc of respondents followed by location (87pc) and the number of bedrooms (64pc). The estate agent involved was cited as priority by just a fraction of respondents (8pc).

However, the lack of affordable housing was cited as the main stumbling block in their search for a new home, according to PerfectProperty.ie Managing Director Laura Pollard.

She said: “Our research shows that the younger generation of buyers and renters in Dublin want to move but a housing shortage is preventing them from doing so. In many cases they are young families with children who simply want a garden.”

“Many of the families looking to buy are being priced out of places where they live so are looking at properties in unfamiliar neighbouring areas. Understanding the local amenities, particularly transport links and schools will be more important than ever for them, which is a key focus for the Perfect Property platform,” she added.